How to Love
by CoffeehouseMuse
Summary: In which Shikamaru falls in love but doesn't know what he's supposed to do about it. / Shikamaru x OC / All because the writer was semi-inspired by a Cash Cash song which this story is titled after.
1. Wait For It

**a/n:** Recently I've been feeling super nostalgic about Naruto and have developed a greater appreciation for Shikamaru haha. And as I've been listening to music, there are some times that a phrase or idea makes me think "hm this could make for an interesting story with Shikamaru maybe?" And so the beginning of this endeavor...  
Most - if not all - of the chapters of this fic will be titled after/inspired from lyrics in various songs. And sometimes it'll be just one line (like this chapter lol) that inspires the chapter/or part of it. Other times it might be influened by more of the song's meaning. I guess we'll see hehe. Also any quotes from the songs will be makred with an "*"- and check out the songs that inspire each chapter!

 **inspiration:** Wait for It - Lin Manuel Miranda, _Hamilton /_ _"Death doesn't discriminate..."_

* * *

Wait For It

He didn't smoke often anymore.

In the months that immediately followed the war, though, there were times when his fingers would tremble as they fumbled for cigarette after cigarette as memories of the fighting would flood into his mind. The sound of metal on metal as kunai clashed with shuriken. The sight of bodies hitting the ground, as ally and enemy shinobi alike fell on the battlefield.

He didn't enjoy the idea of it. He didn't enjoy the taste or the smell that lingered either.

Despite that, there was some comfort he found in the rhythm and intention his breathing took when he had a cigarette between his lips. He would breathe, and he would wait for the memories to pass.

Shikamaru tensed as looked down at the grave marker at his feet, the name of his father etched into the cold stone. An ache swelled in his chest as he remembered his father... remembered Ino's father, remembered Asuma-sensei, remembered face after face of each fallen comrade. _"Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints,*"_ he thought bitterly. _"It takes, and it takes, and it takes…*_ "

Yet he was still here, alive, breathing, while so many around him had died.

With a heavy sigh, Shikamaru reached into his pocket, positioned a cigarette between his lips, and closed his eyes. He allowed his focus to pinpoint itself to the act of breathing in...then out.

"Those'll be the death of you one day."

Though the words were disapproving, they were carried by a tender voice that came from behind Shikamaru. He didn't turn around, but he slowly opened his eyes, keeping them set on the stone in the ground. A female figure appeared in his periphery, and he took note of her.

Unfamiliar; he'd never seen her before. She crouched down to place flowers onto the gravestone beside his father's. She stood again, with a lean frame, though not frail. Auburn hair curled gently around her face and rested just past her shoulders. She tilted her head to face him but Shikamaru still didn't meet her eyes. He shrugged one shoulder in noncommittal acknowledgement.

Then suddenly, a cold, wet drop landed on his nose. He looked up and his brow wrinkled in annoyance. The sky was about to rob him of his temporary means for escape. It seemed that it wasn't just death that takes away, but life takes as well.

"Tch.." Shikamaru tossed the cigarette to the side as it was extinguished by a burst of rain that followed that first single drop. He tried not to think about it, but not being able to smoke tied a greater knot in his chest than was there when he first came to the cemetery. Frustration caused a tautness in his head and grief a squeeze in his heart.

He half turned, preparing to leave, when the girl suddenly grabbed his collar with both her hands. Shikamaru's eyes widened, shocked at the sudden… attack? His gaze quickly shifted from her hands to her eyes, and he froze, confused.

There was no ill-intent in her steady stare. Her expression was soft, the corners of her lips turned delicately downward, eyebrows slightly pulling together as she considered him. Yet her green eyes were fierce with a determination that Shikamaru couldn't understand.

The downpour continued, soaking the both of them, and Shikamaru blinked once against the rain.

In the moment of that blink, the hands around his collar abruptly yanked him forward and then her lips were pressed against his. He felt her body against his as well; her very feminine, very soft, very unexpected body… He felt her leg pressed into his, one of them was trembling slightly - was it his knees or hers that were shaking? He felt the pressure of her arms resting on his chest as she still clung to his collar.

Her lips against his were warm, gentle, and comforting. To his own surprise, Shikamaru found himself leaning into her, returning the kiss. His hands found their way out of his pockets and onto her cheeks, cupping her face. Just as when he smoked a cigarette, any thoughts in his mind gave way to the escape that pressed on his lips.

His mind was usually a constant rattle of varied thoughts- meetings to be organized with the Shinobi Union, memories from the war, what documents had to be organized and sent out, faces of lost loved ones. But in this brief moment his mind was taken over by a feeling he couldn't quite name.

It wasn't love; no, he didn't even know who this girl was. It wasn't lust; he wasn't the type to find his thrills in reckless acts with the opposite gender.

Rather, it was an unraveling of tension that had been coiling up in his chest; some relief to a long-standing ache that he'd previously turned to smoking to address. A deep breath and stretching out of his muscles after a tiring day of work. A drink of summery tea soothing his stomach and warming his bones in the midst of a chill season.

Then the kiss came to an end, feeling almost as ephemeral as the smoke that trails off the end of a cigarette.

Shikamaru had been the first to pull away, dropping his arms and taking a step back from the girl. His thoughts returned to him slowly, and not very clearly. The only thing he could mutter wasn't even what he had intended to ask. "What?"

He meant to ask _why._ As in, _why in the world was this girl kissing him?_ He took a breath in an attempt to clear the fuzziness in his head and corrected his thoughts. _Why_ **did** _she kiss him._ She wasn't currently kissing him anymore. His awareness of that fact being practically tangible, as he felt the missing presence of her warmth against his mouth.

As if suddenly embarrassed by her hasty actions - or perhaps she was just getting cold from the onslaught of rain - the girl wrapped her arms around herself. She smiled meekly.

"It was a kiss."

And now, Shikamaru asked the other question he had first meant to ask. "Why?"

"Because it started raining too much for my liking."

If Shikamaru could've helped his eyes from being drawn to her lips, he would've missed the slight upturn to the corners, as if the words held a different meaning that was amusing only to her. But since he couldn't for the life of him keep from glancing at her lips, he caught the subtle shift.

He slowly raised a brow at her - just a smidge, really - not quite a commitment to inquiring further, but not entirely uninterested either. For a moment she didn't seem like she was going to give a proper explanation, but he guessed he was willing to wait for it since he hadn't walked away yet.

The girl shrugged one shoulder, just as he had previously. "You just looked like you needed a kiss."

* * *

 **a/n:** So...thoughts? The second chapter will probs be out pretty soon, but idk if i can say the same for the 3rd. Some comments/feedback would probs motivate me though? hehe (:


	2. Takes One to Know One

**a/n:** If you read the first chapter yesterday, i made one small adjustment- I realized that Naruto wouldnt have been hokage yet so soon after the war (so Shikamaru wouldn't have been his sidekick for hokage duties yet)...haha so i looked up what Shikamaru would be doing post-shinobi war and found that he was chief coordiantor for the Shinobi Union. I guess its not as simple as I thought to throw things into the timeline merp.

 **insp:** Dust to Dust - The Civil Wars / _"It takes one to know one… You've been lonely for so long."_

* * *

Takes One to Know One

It had already been nearly two years since the end of the war.

There were times when it felt like the war had just ended. Times she'd wake up in the middle of the night, sheets twisted around her as she gasped for air and frantically tried to blink away the lingering images of the battlefield. The times she'd flinch at the sound of thunder, because it would remind her of the chakra blasts caused by the colossal tailed beasts that made her feel _so small._

And there were times when it felt like it had been so much longer. Times when she'd visit the graves of lost loved ones and think about how it has felt unbelievably long since she's heard her father's bellowing laughter, so long since she's seen her brother's playful grin. Times when she'd walk into her empty apartment, longing for the way her mother's voice would chime through the rooms in their old home, greeting everyone as they'd enter.

Her family wasn't part of a well known clan, but each of them had been skilled shinobi, dedicated to their home village of Konohagakure. And so when the Fourth Shinobi War came around and the Allied Shinobi Forces formed, her family - herself included- of course were a part of the forces fighting to protect the rest of…. well, the world.

Her mother had died protecting her father. Her father led his team into a victory against the enemy forces that killed his wife. That victory cost him his life. Her brother hated violence, and refused to kill- as much as he could afford to as a shinobi in the middle of a war, anyway. He was in the battlefield as a ninja medic, running to the aid of those wounded and saving countless lives in the midst of a war that tried to take just as many. He died when enemy forces attacked their medical station with an explosion.

She had been at the edge of that attack.

One moment she was glancing over across some distance as her brother was bandaging someone's leg. In the next, she was watching the space fill with light and fire and dirt and blood; her legs were collapsing, her heart was collapsing, her world was collapsing; she was screaming as teammates held her by the arms to keep her upright. The battle was still going on. They had to keep moving.

After losing her family, that's what she told herself everyday. " _Keep moving."_

There were days when she wouldn't realize, but she'd stop in the middle of a task, frozen as her mind trailed into memories of the past. She urged herself to keep living with those two words. No matter how much the loneliness may cause her to ache, or the post trauma anxiety paralyze her, she couldn't just stop and succumb to it all.

 _Keep moving_.

She reminded herself this again when she realized she had been standing still as a slow stream of villagers passed her on each side. Gauging from their mostly uninterested glances, it was likely that she hadn't spaced out too long. She adjusted the bouquet in her arms and resumed her walk to the cemetery.

Because each of her family had been a part of different units, they were buried separately, each with their own teams. She had just finished visiting her parent's graves and was making her way to her brother's when she noticed him.

There were plenty of people that she'd seen visiting the graves of the ones they've lost, but she never took much notice of them. Visiting this place felt too intimately close to the sorrow she felt, her emotions still too raw even after all this time for her to want to interact with others. Because she usually visited during daylight hours, most shinobi were busy completing missions and so the people she'd see visiting graves were almost always civilians. People from the village who of course had loved ones they lost and now missed, but seemed to have found peace, without firsthand experience of the war to haunt them.

She'd never seen him before, but as she stood herself parallel to him, she felt a curious pang of familiarity.

It was hard to place exactly what it was that stood out to her. There was nothing remarkable about the way he stood, shoulders slightly forward with hands tucked in the pockets of his green vest. A recently lit cigarette was balanced between his lips. She had made a comment about those leading to death, to which the man hardly reacted. The comment was intended to be passive, yet there was a sympathy carried in her voice that surprised even her.

When he didn't return her gaze, she realized it was the withdrawn attention that she recognized, the stature of someone who was presently not very present and instead had sunken into a different time and place.

 _It seems you've been lonely too long*, too._

Along with the thought came a wave of frustration. She didn't know his story, didn't know who he'd lost or who he had left, but suddenly she felt a great sense of unfairness for the both of them. Why did they have to endure such an emptiness in the wake of the people who had died? Why did some people seem to so freely keep moving, while she - and probably him as well - moved through each day, each stride, constrained by the tension and worry of breaking apart at any moment?

 _You've held your head up. You've fought the fight. You bear the scars*._  
She wasn't sure if the "you" in her own thoughts was directed to herself or to the silent man who she had suddenly begun to empathize with. Either way, _it takes one to know one*,_ she thought as she exhaled the smallest of breaths.

 _We've been lonely, too long*._ Her own loneliness was something she thought she'd grown accustomed to bearing. But seeing his reflecting hers made her ache to alleviate it for him. The weight that daily sat in her chest felt doubly heavy as she saw the slump in the man's posture and it was as if she took it upon herself to bear the weight of his sorrow as well.

The burst of rain and her decision were equally abrupt, so she wasn't sure which came first.

Both hit her with equal forcefulness. The rain that came down was heavy and the cold drops felt sharp against her skin. The decision was as sure and steady as the downpour.

As she turned towards him, she saw him toss the cigarette to the side. Then she was grabbing his collar forcing him to finally look at her. Her eyes locked onto his face and for a brief second she _almost_ worried about regretting her brashness. But she'd always been rather impulsive and strong-willed, and besides, any trace of hesitation that she might have held was dispelled before it could even form. As soon as his eyes met hers, the pressure in her chest became nearly unbearable, as if the force of gravity was entirely working in her heart alone.

She read his surface as sharp, clever, strong. But beneath, there was something delicate, softer, something in need of nurture… Misery loves company after all, doesn't it?

It wasn't so much that _she_ needed someone in that moment, but she felt so heavy _for him_ , that _he_ seemed to really need someone. And feeling such a weight for him in addition to her own was just too much... so maybe she did it because she actually did need it as well. In retrospect, she couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why she decided to do it. What she remembers more clearly than the reason, was the experience.

Almost immediately after she pulled him in and pressed her lips to his, he was leaning into her as much as she was to him. To her surprise he was returning the kiss, and his hands were around her face. Then she realized it wasn't just their lips pressed together, but her arms were resting on his chest, her legs were against his… and she was shaking at the knees. Ridiculous. It's not like she'd never kissed a boy before.

It's just that she'd never felt such a mutuality of emotion in any of those kisses. But maybe she was assigning too much meaning to this moment. Maybe she'd just been too deprived of any emotional expression since the war ended that this moment was overwhelming her senses. But she did feel a relief to the weight in her chest. It didn't disappear, but it felt like those times when her arms would ache from carrying a load and a teammate would come from the other side and help her hold the burden. She smiled into the kiss when she felt his body relax against hers, thinking that maybe he felt the same relief and her attempt to ease his tension was a success.

He pulled away first.

She wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to hide her shaking. Was it from the kiss? Maybe she was getting cold from the rain. She couldn't tell.  
He asked two questions, _what_ followed by _why._

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from grinning too much- she felt strangely very pleased with herself. She made some comment to him about it raining too much, but the rain she meant was the one she read inside of him. Internally, she cringed at how cheesy she felt as the words left her mouth. She knew he didn't get what she meant though.

He was still looking at her, eyebrow slightly shifted up.

She lifted and dropped one shoulder, mirroring his earlier response to her, and told him that he looked like he needed it. And considering how he reciprocated, she was apparently pretty damn right about that.

Not waiting for him to respond, she gave him a parting wave accompanied by another small smile, then turned and hurried away to find shelter from the rain.


	3. Hello, How Do You Do?

**a/n:** Took longer than i thought to get this one out. Mostly because I just forgot what I was going to write LOL whoops. Plsplspls review? Esp if anyone is/becomes ooc. I haven't been very fanfiction-y in a while so.. ya. Thanks (:

 **insp:** Classy Girls - The Lumineers. (very loosely ha)

* * *

"Hello, How Do You Do?"

 _"Shikamaru."_

He looked over at Ino and wondered why she was saying his name so emphatically.

"I've said your name four times now!" She was leaning over the counter of the flower shop to give him a light punch on the arm. "What's got you so distracted? I thought things haven't been as busy for you lately."

Shikamaru didn't want to admit it to himself, much less to his nosy and overly-excited-by-juicy-news teammate, but his mind had wandered off to think about the girl who had kissed him. She had run off in the same direction that Shikamaru was intending to go, but not wanting to awkwardly walk alongside her, he waited for her to get further before heading off himself. Which resulted in him getting even more soaked -and cold - as he stood in the rain.

He grumbled out, "I was just remembering something that happened recently. It's nothing."

Still wet from the rain, Shikamaru resumed drying himself off as best he could with the towel that Ino had thrown at him when he had walked in. The Yamanaka flower shop was closer than his home, so he decided to stop in and wait out the storm. He expected to see Ino's mother, but was surprised to find Ino there; After the war, she had helped Sakura with establishing a clinic within Konoha Hospital to assess and treat children's mental health, and Ino was often busy working there these days.

"Anyway," Ino shrugged off her teammate's lapse of attention. "What I was trying to tell you is that we should go out with Chouji some time soon. It's been a while since the three of us have hung out, and I was thinking we could grab some dinner and have a few drinks!"

Shikamaru didn't particularly enjoy drinking, quite the opposite of Ino who would sometimes drag Sakura into competitions. "What a drag…" He sighed out. But dinner with his friends was something he rarely turned down.

Ino gave him a knowing look and smiled. "So you're down? Let's go to Shushuya this weekend."

"Yeah, alright."

\- x -

Dinner ended up being pushed back a couple hours. Shikamaru was at fault; there was confusion about where the next Shinobi Union meeting would be next month, and he had to communicate with the Kage and other representatives to get everyone on the same page.

Shushuya was a restaurant-pub, with tables lining the floor and a bar against a side wall. There were a couple of guys seated at the bar, another group was at a table finishing up their meal. It looked like a slow night. Ino and Chouji were already seated next to each other at a table when Shikamaru arrived. He slid himself onto the wooden bench in front of his two friends.

"Finally!" Chouji greeted him with a large grin, his cheeks pushing up against his eyes to make them squint as he smiled. "Hey, Shikamaru since you were running late, we already placed orders for food. I'll call the waitress over so you can order a drink!"

Chouji raised an arm, but when Shikamaru glanced over the waitress was already coming out from behind the bar and making her way towards them.

Shikamaru felt a warmth creep up the back of his neck as he realized this was the girl from a few days ago. He struggled between staring or avoiding looking at her at all costs. He ended up compromising by avoiding her eyes and staring at her hands.

"Hi, your friends ordered yakitori and some sake, but would you like anything else?"

Did she recognize him? He could hardly forget the face of the strange girl who kissed him and it's not like his spiked-up ponytail was unrecognizable. Should he say hi to her? Or should he just order something? He must've hesitated too long because from the corner of his vision, he noticed Ino tilt her head at him with curiosity.

Damn this woman and her attentive eyes.

Not wanting to give Ino anything else to pick up on, Shikamaru forced himself to meet the girl's eyes. She was smiling at him and seemed like she was holding back a laugh; he noticed her bite the corner of her bottom lip- because of course his eyes glanced over her mouth as he looked up at her.

He cleared his throat and ordered a beer.

"Is Asahi okay?"

He tensely nodded and wondered to himself why he couldn't be as nonchalant as she was right now.

"Okay, I'll be right back with that!" She turned but Shikamaru still didn't feel freed of the tension that held him.

When she was out of earshot, Ino nudged Chouji with her elbow and began to prod at Shikamaru, "Okay, you totally think she's cute!"

From the look she was previously giving him, Shikamaru expected Ino to begin commenting. He tried to keep his composure as he shrugged off Ino's comment. But the warmth on his neck spread to his face and apparently his cheeks betrayed him because Chouji exclaimed, "Dude your face is turning pink you definitely have a thing for that girl!"

There was no way that the girl didn't hear Chouji so there was no point in shushing his teammates as he wished he'd done sooner. Shikamaru tilted his head back against the booth, an exasperated sigh scratching its way out of his throat.

Ino and Chouji were giggling to themselves as they eyed their frustrated companion. Ino propped her elbows on the table, leaning forward and resting her chin on her bridged fingers. "Wow Shikamaru, I've never seen you so flustered over a girl before!"

He dropped his chin down and forced himself to meet Ino's stare with what was hopefully a disinterested look in his eyes. She probably wasn't convinced, but he tried to brush it off anyway, responding in monotone, "It's nothing like that. I met her a few days ago and I was just surprised to see her here."

Upon hearing that they'd met previously, Ino's eyebrows raised with increased interest and Shikamaru realized he had dug himself into a deeper hole.

"So you two know each other?" Chouji asked, his curiosity just as peaked as Ino's was.

At that moment, the girl reappeared with a tray balanced on her arm carrying their drinks and platters of food. She was the one to answer Chouji as she served them.

"Not really. We just ran into each other the other day when we were both visiting the cemetery." As she was handing Shikamaru his drink, she turned so her face was only visible to him and then gave him a quick wink. "We briefly connected over some shared experiences."

She slightly emphasized _connected_ , to which Shikamaru clenched his jaw as he understood her implication. _Troublesome, woman…_ He thought to himself.

Despite how tense he was, he found himself nodding in agreement with her words with the hope that Ino would be satisfied with that. He also hoped the color in his cheeks was subsiding. In an attempt to appear more at ease, he asked the girl, "How are you?"

She suddenly laughed and Shikamaru was swamped with a fog of confusion. He was confused as to why she laughed and also confused as to why his breath caught in his throat and something in his chest stuttered at the sound.

The girl composed herself and said with lingering traces of laughter on her face, "Are you asking my name?"

He realized now that what he asked was _who are you._ He was simultaneously annoyed and slightly embarrassed that he misspoke again around this girl.

He clarified, "I meant to ask, how are you?"

"Oh, I see," she nodded. "Well I'll answer both of your questions- I'm doing alright, thanks. And I'm Higashi, Mina. Nice to see you again! And your name is?"

She smiled and extended a hand out to him.

"Nara, Shikamaru." He shook her hand, still working on having- or at least feigning - nonchalance.

Mina turned to his two companions expectantly, and smiled at them as well.

"Akimichi, Chouji!" He spoke around a biteful of skewered chicken that he had already begin eating. "Good to meet you, miss!"

Ino introduced herself as well. She had a grin on her face as she greeted Mina, and Shikamaru couldn't read what Ino was thinking now. He hoped that she'd leave him alone about this.

Mina gave a parting wave- similar to when she left Shikamaru the other day- and stepped away as she chimed, "Enjoy your dinner, everyone. And thanks for coming in! Let me know if you need anything else."

Ino smirked at him as Mina walked away. Shikamaru ignored her and took a drink of his beer.

"Well you heard her, let's enjoy!" Chouji bellowed out as he reached for multiple yakitori- one for himself and one each to pass to his friends.

Ino didn't prod more at Shikamaru about Mina for the rest of the night, only giving him specific looks when she'd return to the table to bring them more drinks throughout the night. Each time she came to their table, Shikamaru was relieved to note that the back of his neck didn't raise in temperature again, and the couple beers he had helped loosen his initial rigid posture. Eventually, he was pretty confident that his nonchalance was genuine; He ended up being thankful for this time with Ino and Chouji.

They reminisced about antics shared throughout their training at the academy, successful and not-so-successful missions. The conversation took a turn to bittersweet when they talked about Mirai, and how well she was growing. The daughter of their late-sensei was around two years old now. She was a constant source of joy, but Team 10 couldn't help but feel melancholic as they realized again that Asuma wasn't here to be with Mirai and Kurenai. The fact remained unspoken, and in the break in the conversation, Ino ordered another round of sake.

Shikamaru stopped her, gesturing to Chouji. He was slouching over and his movement had become lethargic as lifted his cup to his mouth to finish off what was there.

"I don't understand how he's such a lightweight." Ino shook her head. Considering his size, and metabolism, one would assume that the Akimichi shinobi could handle his alcohol. But Chouji had never been able to last very long even after only a few drinks. And when he had over his limit, he knocked out hard and was practically immovable at that point.

Ino sighed, "alright, I guess it's time to call it a night." She nudged Chouji onto his feet and slung his arm around her shoulder. Ino tossed some money on the table, Shikamaru followed suit as he slid out of his bench as well.

Chouji grumbled something about needing to use the bathroom. Ino passed him off to Shikamaru, and said that she'd wait for them outside.

Shikamaru leaned against the wall outside the bathroom door as he waited for his friend. He surveyed the restaurant again, and there were even less people now. Only one guy was left at the bar. Mina was cleaning up his empty glasses. She looked up just as his gaze had paused on her and he quickly looked away.

Shikamaru heard some clinking as Mina probably placed the glasses into the sink, and then in another moment she was at his side.

"Is your friend okay?" She glanced at the bathroom door.

Shikamaru gave her a small nod.

He wondered for a second if he had said something, would he have found a way to say the wrong thing again? He didn't feel as flustered now; it was likely that the warmth from earlier was because of surprise. Why couldn't he meet her eyes though? It's not like she was going to kiss him again. Was he worried about that? Did he want- No. With the direction of those thoughts, the unfamiliar and uncomfortable tension would probably return.

Noticing that he was avoiding her eyes, Mina asked, "Are _you_ okay?" She leaned in closed to him, examining his face.

The warmth was slowly making a return, starting at the nape of his neck. Damn it.

He wondered if she could smell the alcohol on his breath. Her face was too close. His eyes moved from hers, to her lips, to the wall. She didn't move away, rather just chimed out another laugh.

Was she laughing at him?

"Sorry." His expression may have conveyed his annoyance. "I won't kiss you again, if that's what you're worried about." She must have caught when his eyes glanced over her lips. Damn _this_ attentive woman as well.

Shikamaru swallowed. She stepped back. What was he supposed to say?

"Its-" He paused. It's fine? What was fine? That she kissed him or that she wouldn't again? "Yeah. Whatever." Is what he decided to grumble out.

An amused smile crossed her lips and she returned to the bar. The man had left, and Mina finished cleaning up the counter.

Chouji exited the bathroom then, and Shikamaru led him to the door, refusing to glance over his shoulder to look at the bar.

Ino pulled Chouji off of Shikamaru when they came outside. "I'll get Chouji home."

The Ino-Shika-Cho compounds (well, the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi clans) were located in the same general direction, but after the war Shikamaru had moved out into a residential area nearer to the Hokage's office because of his duties. Shikamaru watched for a moment as Ino and Chouji walked off in the other direction, wanting to make sure that Chouji really wouldn't collapse on the kunoichi. He didn't seem too out of it. Content, Shikamaru turned to go his way and caught a glimpse of Mina rounding a corner in front of him.

Did they live in the same area?

If they ended up walking the same path home, he'd rather avoid small talk and any chance of the awkwardness of the restaurant making a comeback. Trying to not think about this too hard, Shikamaru slowly ambled on with the hope that he wouldn't catch up to her.


	4. Window

**a/n:** no song insp for this one. this one has a couple "windows" - a literal one, a window into Mina's past, her thoughts, mina gets a peek into Shika's team dynamic... idk mostly i just didnt know what to name this chapter lul. anyhoo.

* * *

When Mina saw him walk in, her first thought was to wonder if he was a regular at Shushuya. She'd befriended the regulars at the tea shop she also worked at, but she'd only recently picked up shifts here and so wouldn't know yet if he frequented the restaurant. If he did come to Shushuya often then … well she'd figure out how she felt about that later. For now, she was making her way to their table, biting the inside of her cheek and trying to convince herself that she didn't feel awkward at all. There was no reason to right? After all, he was just a guy that didn't even know who she was. That she kissed. Which he returned.

Pretending she wasn't thinking about any of that, Mina took in a breath and smiled as she asked him his order. Her own nervousness dissipated when she saw that he was clearly feeling awkward and not very good at hiding it. She almost laughed out loud at just how bad he was at pretending to keep his cool. For some reason, the fact that he was flustered by her put her own nerves at ease. Was that mean? Maybe a little. But she found it amusing nonetheless.

As she was walking into the kitchen to pick up their order, she heard one of his friends yell, "Dude your face is turning pink you definitely…" and then the kitchen door shut behind her.

Her laugh escaped her now, a sharp exhale accompanying her smile.

One of the cooks asked her what was funny. She dismissed his question with a quick wave of her hand before picking up the tray.

When she returned to the table, she introduced herself after he - Shikamaru, that is - fumbled out his words. His friends were Ino and Chouji, and Mina was glad to know that Shikamaru seemed to have close company and wasn't entirely alone in the aftermath of the war. She wondered if this was his team.

As she served them throughout the night, their interactions reminded her of her own - well, her previous - team. Kaoru and Hinami were good to her, but she rarely saw the two of them anymore since retiring herself from the shinobi life. When she first decided after the war that she wouldn't continue as a ninja, guilt nagged at her because she was causing her team to disband. The two had been supportive however, understanding Mina's need to grieve over her family. Losing her whole family was such a shift in her life that Mina didn't feel as if she could hold on to any of the things she had before.

She moved out of their home as soon as she could find a place for herself. She quickly resigned as a shinobi and took up tasks of civilian life to occupy her time. There was a time she isolated herself from her two closest friends, not wanting anything to remind her of pre-war life because it stirred up the ache of missing her family. She reached a point where even her own appearance brought her sorrow; she felt so different from who she had been before the war. After all, back then she was a daughter and a sister. But without a family, could she even claim those as parts of her identity?

In the months she spent in isolation, Mina had chopped off inches from her hair and knew she had lost a noticeable amount of weight. When she finally made efforts to reconnect with Kaoru and Hinami, she ignored the worry that was in their eyes every time they glanced at her when they thought she wasn't paying attention. The day they reunited, Hinami wailed as she clung to Mina's neck. Kaoru pried the crying girl away, and grabbed the hands of both his friends and led them to Ichiraku. Both girls commented about not having appetites, but Kaoru had fiercely declared that he didn't care how pushy he was being, they were going to eat because food brought people together and that was that.

From where she was standing behind the bar, Mina glanced at Shikamaru's table again. Chouji had picked up a napkin and was wiping at his eyes, but the other two were smiling, their eyes alight with laughter. Suddenly, Chouji cried out, "it was so delicious!" Mina thought of Hinami as Chouji continued to dab away his tears. Even though Chouji's enthusiasm for food was a similarity to Kaoru's wn, Mina was much more reminded of Hinami. Soft hearts that care a lot, emotion - and tears - put forth into things they felt passionate about.

"Hey, lady."

Mina looked over at the man seated at the bar. He was waving an empty glass at her and she had the urge to roll her eyes. In her opinion, he'd already had too much to drink, but he repeatedly insisted on having 'just one more.'

One of her coworkers gave him a new glass and Mina provided him with a cup of water, hoping that he'd drink that as well. He didn't.

After about another hour, the man finally looked like he'd realized he was at -or past - his limit and Mina began to clean up his area. In her periphery, she noticed Ino walk out the front door. Hoping to at least wave bye to Shikamaru, Mina looked up and her eyes met his for just a second.

He slid his eyes away quickly and leaned himself against the wall next to the bathroom.

Was he waiting on Chouji?

Mina joined him; apparently he didn't notice her walking over, and was surprised when she appeared at his side to ask about Chouji. If he was feeling sick, she had some remedies behind the bar that could help.

Shikamaru said his friend was fine, though. Although he seemed less tense than earlier, he still had some trouble keeping eye contact, and she noticed him glance at her lips.

She realized then that she had leaned in closer to him and maybe he was worried that she'd spring one on him again. Even though he returned her kiss that day, Mina understood that maybe he was wary of another impulsive act. Just because he accepted it once didn't mean that he often exchanged affection with strangers.

She tried to lighten the air with a laugh and reassured him before she walked away.

Mina ended up leaving the restaurant before he did, leaving it to the other staff to close up the restaurant. As Shikamaru was seeing his two friends off, Mina slipped past him and headed home for the night.

She had only walked a couple of blocks when a figure covered in the shadow of a building called out to her in a slurred voice.

"Hey! Lady!"

Mina ignored him as she walked past, not wanting to deal with the comments of a drunk man.

He shot out a hand and tried to grab her wrist. He missed, stumbled forward, and ended up latching onto the hood of her jacket. Mina stopped walking, feeling the tightness of his grip on her jacket and not wanting to cause it to rip.

He sidled up to her, warm breath against her ear as he grumbled out some phrases that made Mina's stomach roll. The man brought his other arm around from behind in an attempt to hold Mina, and in that moment Mina heard another voice from further behind them yell, "Hey!"

Whoever it was, Mina didn't need their help.

In a fluid stream of motion she slid out of her jacket, stepped away, and grabbed a hold of the man's forearm. She flipped him onto his back as she simultaneously rolled her eyes.

He coughed out a string of curses as he fought against the weight of her foot on his chest.

Mina stepped down harder as she leaned down to tug her jacket out of his grip.

"You're disgusting," she sneered, "and it's not just because you're drunk."

Removing her foot from the man, she looked up to see who her would-be savior was.

Shikamaru was standing a few feet away, mouth slightly agape and surprise in his eyes.

"Oh, um.." Mina wasn't sure what to say. It's not like she needed to thank him for being there. "Hi."

The drunk man crawled onto his feet and stumbled off with a parting glare in Mina's direction.

Shikamaru watched him leave until he was out of sight, then turned to Mina.

"You okay?"

"Just annoyed." She eyed him, wondering if he lived in the same area as she did. She tilted her head in the direction she was heading. "Want to walk me home?"

Her own breath caught at her words, because she meant to just ask if he wanted to walk together. She didn't need him to walk her home, but she had been imagining that to be the case. Whoops.

Shikamaru made a noise as if he was clearing his throat. "You seem like you can take care of yourself." He put his hands into his pockets and shifted.

An amused scoff escaped her and she clarified, "Not for protection. For company. If we're going the same way, let's just walk together."

Shikamaru hesitated and his gaze trailed to the left. "I, uh, live in the other direction."

"Oh." Mina shrugged. "Okay. Have a good night, Shikamaru!"

She turned and walked away first.

Before turning another corner, Mina glanced back to where he had been standing and was confused to see him still there. He was looking up into the sky, head tilted back. He jolted upright when she called out his name, asking if everything was okay. He nodded and clumsily turned and walked in the direction opposite her.

When Mina arrived at home, she opened a window to let in some fresh air and made herself a cup of herbal tea - something to ease her mind and body for bed. She ran through the details of her day as she lay in bed. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures- she imagined each sense as she experienced them today. To avoid her mind wandering to grim memories, Mina had formed this habit to occupy her thoughts before sleep. It was effective in the moments before slipping into unconsciousness, but once asleep Mina never had control over where her mind went in her dreams.

Within this past year, the nightmares had become less frequent and she was grateful for more nights of restful sleep.  
But tonight was going to be far from restful.

Mina's dream began in the front yard of her family home. Kaoru and Hinami were at her side, the three of them having just returned from a mission. In reality, her friend's didn't live next to her, but in the dream their houses were adjacent to her own. Mina stood smiling as her two friends walked through their respective front doors, greeted by their parents. As soon as their doors closed behind them, Mina was suddenly standing in the front hall of her house, and the lighting had gone from sunny to eerie and dusky. Her smile fell from her face - no one around for her to try to convince of feigned cheerfulness. The house was empty and the silence rang in her ears. Her body began to tremble, and as her knees buckled in, Mina sank to the floor crying.

Her sobbing increased in intensity and then everything went black as she curled up against the door and pressed her face into her knees. Then, overlapping her heaving gasps was a deep, repetitive pounding. Slow at first, but as she fought to ignore the noise that sounded too much like the blast that took her brother, the pounding rose in speed and volume. Just when it was becoming nearly deafening, the sound of the heavy blows shifted into an extended, high-pitched tone and then Mina was awake and now aware that she had been screaming in her sleep.

Mina rolled to her side and pulled the blanket tighter around herself, realizing she had forgotten to close the window before falling asleep but too tired to get up and close it. She was about to sigh heavily but choked on her air as a series of three pounds resounded through her apartment.

A groan rumbled in her throat as she cringed at the thought of a concerned neighbor standing at her door. If she had closed her window, she probably would have sufficiently soundproofed her home, protecting both her privacy and the nerves of her neighbors. Her eyes were still tearing up from the lingering emotions of her nightmare, so Mina didn't open her door to speak to whoever was on the other side.

"Hey, I just had another nightmare. Don't worry about anything!" The knocking stopped as she assured them of this. "Sorry if I woke you!"

There was a pause, and then the person spoke her name, his voice a low rumble that was familiar only because she'd heard him speak recently.

"Mina?"

Mina blinked at the sound of his voice, wondering how Shikamaru ended up here. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to open the door, forgetting that her eyes were still misty with tears.

"Hi." She tried to smile, but when her vision blurred she swiped at her eyes to scrub away the tears. She faked a yawn so she could pretend the tears were from that.

"You okay?" Shikamaru regarded her with uncertainty in his eyes and a worried pull to his brows.

"Yeah, I'm fine.. But what are you doing here?"

He seemed confused by her question. "I was walking past and I heard screaming. So I wanted to check on whoever it was."

"Huh?" Mina clearly remembered Shikamaru informing her that he lived in the other direction. Which was why they didn't walk together.

He must've realized the contradiction; his eyes widened and the back-peddling his thoughts must have been doing was apparent on his face. "I realized I actually do live in this direction…" His excuse fell flat, not convincing to either of them.

Mina shifted beneath the blanket she still had draped over herself, suddenly uncomfortable as a handful of insecurities tumbled into her thoughts. Maybe he actually disliked her and the awkwardness she perceived - and found slightly endearing - at the restaurant was because he didn't want to interact with the stranger who jumped him with that kiss. Maybe she really did make up that feeling of a "shared moment" between them. Maybe he didn't actually kiss her back, and that was just her holding onto him that day..?

Mina huffed - at him or herself?

"Well you can head on home now. Good night, Shikamaru."

He nodded in acknowledgement.

She pressed the door shut, closed the window, and pulled the blanket over her head as she crawled onto her bed.

As she lay under the covers, she realized the chances of running into Shikamaru again were low. He was a shinobi; she doubted their paths would cross often especially if he intended to avoid her.

She muttered under her breath, with a hint of bitterness, "Good bye, Shikamaru."


	5. Headspace

**a/n:**

been a while...whoopsie. I havent abandoned this, i promise. Please bare with me heh.

Finally comfortable with the amount of minutes that had passed since Mina had rounded the corner, Shikamaru pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and started walking, tracing the girl's steps that went in the direction of his own home. When she first walked away from him, he had remained where he stood, looking up to the stars and counting them to pass the time. But then she called his name and, startled and slightly embarrassed, he clumsily shuffled away.

Now as he walked, curiosity arose as he came to the conclusion that she must be a shinobi. The flip with which she'd incapacitated the man was a move Shikamaru had seen many times during sparring practices. And despite the simplicity of that move, Shikamaru was impressed by the fluidity with which she carried it out.

Questions began to form and for a moment he thought maybe it wouldn't have been that bad to have walked together. His thoughts began to wander.

If Mina is a shinobi, why has he never seen or heard of her before? He struck that question as soon as the thought finished, realizing that no one knew everyone. There were far too many shinobi in the Leaf, and anyway there were the Anbu whose true identities were often known by little. Was she Anbu..? This seemed unlikely. For all the secrecy surrounding their position, Anbu were skilled to make themselves easily not-noticed even in off-duty daily life.

She's much too noticeable.

His forehead wrinkled as he considered this thought. Mina was actually quite ordinary in physical appearance if he stopped to analyze her features. No pink hair like Sakura's that one could identify amidst a crowd. Eyes a striking green, yes, but not especially unique like the Hyuuga's kekkei genkai. Her voice didn't carry and fill the room like Ino's, whose presence was very commanding when she wanted it to be.

Yet in their few interactions, Shikamaru found himself unable to take notice of much else other than her. He frowned.

Auburn hair. Easily ignored; brunette was a common hair color. Green eyes. Bright, but Ino had even bluer eyes. And Sakura's were green too. Soft features to her face, a dusting of light freckles across her nose and on her cheeks. A laugh that felt smooth and clear and small yet seemed to fill him when he heard it. And lips that were quick to smile.

Quick to kiss, as well.

Shikamaru fought the urge to roll his eyes at himself.

His goal was to list the things that make her plain, convincing himself she couldn't be as distracting as he'd thought she'd been. But in the process, Shikamaru faced the dilemma of simply imagining her features, getting caught up in remembering the kiss, and realizing that he remembered more details about this girl than he would've liked. Thus dismantling his point that 'she isn't that distracting.'

Then every thought about her dissipated as a series of screams carried through the night. Shinobi instincts sparking alert, Shikamaru bolted to the apartment complex originating the sound of a terrified someone. As he approached the building, he noted that the cries were uninterrupted; different from situations in his experience in which people were being attacked. He ran up the steps two at a time to the walkway, thoughts racing through his mind, rapid but clear. No signs of breaking and entering, narrowing down the chances of an attack on a civilian to unlikely. Shikamaru decided against kicking down the door and forcing his way in, opting instead to pound against it with his fist.

The screams stopped, then a moment later a voice came from the other side of the door.

Surprise at finding it to be Mina made him forget that he had informed her he lived in the completely other direction. So when she opened the door and asked what he was doing there, a lame excuse fell from his lips. Then for once it was she who wasn't meeting his gaze. Shikamaru on the other hand couldn't look away from her.

She looks so fragile, he thought.

This Mina before him seemed to be a different person than the girl who could flip over a grown man, who laughed with ease, who boldly kissed strangers. Wrapped in her blanket and avoiding his eyes, Mina seemed to be retreating, away from him, from everything around her. For a brief moment, Shikamaru was unable to make sense of the panic he'd heard in her screams, or the tears that pooled in her eyes. But then his mind suddenly recalled three things- the first of Mina at the cemetery, laying flowers down at the grave of whoever she'd been visiting; the second, of her defending herself with shinobi ease earlier that night; and lastly, the sight of his own darkened bedroom, ears ringing, breathing ragged as he jolted awake from his own nightmare.

And Shikamaru believed he understood.

She'd been in the war too, and like himself, continued to struggle through the aftermath.

But before he could form a thought of what to say next, Mina began to close the door with a goodnight and a good-bye slipping from her lips. The lack of her smile in the parting was jarringly noticeable to Shikamaru. As he headed home, he may or may not have been aware of the developing resolve within him to see her smile again.

In the couple weeks that followed, Shikamaru caught his mind wandering to thoughts of Mina once at some point each day. On a day that it rained, he thought of her twice.

The month went on with an accumulation of reports and meetings that seemed to follow each other back to back in a never ending tumble. Towards the end of the month, a relatively simple mission had gone sideways; the noble that had requested the team of Leaf Shinobi found some reason for offense with their performance and was demanding to be compensated for his wasted time and emotional grievances in addition to what he had paid to have the ninja come. After further investigation, the relentless storm of the lord's shrill complaints over the most petty things, and a throbbing headache that lasted the entirety of a week, Shikamaru finally settled the matters.

He ended that week with the thought that maybe his mother's nagging wasn't so terrible.

The evening he returned to the village, he stopped by his old home for a visit.

"How long has it been since you've visited?!" Despite greeting him with a scold and a whack to the side of his head, Yoshino was grateful her son stopped by.

Shikamaru rubbed his head. "Mendokusai…" It probably wouldn't have made a difference if she knew he was was just recovering from his week-long headache. "Hey Mom, you're looking well."

Yoshino shook her head and nudged her son in through the door. "Since you're here, could you help me with dinner?" Despite the words being framed as a question, Yoshino's sharp eyes and crossed arms made it clear that she wasn't really asking.

Shikamaru's lips pulled up into a half-smile, remembering the times his father would try to joke with her, saying that he was too busy. The kunoichi would often respond with nothing more than a raise of a brow, and Shikaku would be in the kitchen without another word, a small smile on his lips as his wife gently nudged him with her elbow.

Shikamaru had never thought of either one of his parents to be high spirited and playful, but in their small interactions like this, Shikamaru would perceive a tenderness that hinted at a different side of his parents than typically presented. Growing up, he got used to his mother's stern voice, the rigidity of her posture when she was determined to do anything; used to seeing his father - the leader of their clan - submit to her stubbornness. But he began to notice subtle moments of affection, which always brought that same small smile to his lips.

"What are you smiling about?"

Shikamaru glanced down his nose to the wooden spoon that his mother was pointing at him.

"Just remembering something about dad."

Yoshino's lips had been pressed into a firm line, which now curved into a form to match the half-smile on her son's face. "He was practically useless when it came to cooking. Was more of a hinderance than a help in the kitchen!"

She wanted him for the company rather than the help. To hide his growing smile at the thought of this, Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned to the vegetables laying on the counter. He swiftly diced through them, and Yoshino gathered them to add to the pan on the stove.

She sighed and jabbed her son in the ribs with the handle of her spoon. "And here I thought you were thinking about a girl, with that smile on your face."

The comment brought with it a recollection of Mina, who he hadn't thought about in nearly a month. His hand slipped, and the squash he was slicing was launched across the counter.

His mother was intrigued. "Is there a girl?"

"No, there's no girl. The vegetables are wet and this knife isn't very sharp."

"Shikamaru!" Yoshino tossed the squash back to her son and he caught it with ease. An eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch, and her dark eyes hardened.

Troublesome woman… Shikamaru knew he couldn't stand against his mother's resolve, but he tried again anyway. "There really isn't, Ma."

To his surprise she relented, taking a step back toward the stove. "Fine. But when there is, you'll bring her over for a meal."

"Sure."

As he continued to help his mother prepare their meal, for the first time in weeks his mind wandered to think about the girl with the gentle laugh and soft lips. The girl who cried at night with her nightmares. The girl who he had begun forget about.

A crease settled on his brow, a frown on his lips, and a weight in his chest. He didn't want to forget her. This girl who had taken up most of the space in his mind for a brief time.

As limited as their interactions had been, Shikamaru didn't want her to just be an arbitrary occurrence stored in the untouched corners of his memories. He wanted-

What do I want?

To see her again? To have his questions about her answered?

Why does that matter?

Throughout dinner, his mother gave him updates on the clan. Ensui has been sick, but was refusing to rest. Shikamaru was aware of this, as he had been in the Hokage's office when Kakashi ordered Ensui to remain off-duty until he was feeling better. The deer in the Nara Clan Forest seemed to be doing well, Maen had been spending more time with them and they welcomed his company - as they did with any member of the Nara.

Shikamaru could only give half his attention, as he was preoccupied with his self-interrogation of why he wanted to see Mina again as well as wondering how he could see her again. By the end of their meal, Shikamaru had decided he would take the road that passed by Shushuya on his way home. It was in the same direction, he told himself, it wasn't like he was looking for Mina. Just slightly increasing the chances of bumping into her again.

As he was approaching the pub, he slowed his pace, deliberating going in. But as he had previously convinced himself, he wasn't looking for the girl; he was just passing by this place on his way home. The only people that emerged from the doors was a couple too preoccupied with each other to give Shikamaru any notice.

He turned the corner and was trying his best to ignore the discomfort of disappointment that was settling in when he saw her a few paces in front of him. Her back was to him and she continued walking further away, unaware of his gaze. Shikamaru hesitated for a moment, wanting to keep his hopes low in case he was mistaken and the auburn curls and yellow jacket in front of him belonged to a different girl.

But then he imagined how her face looked right now, as she was walking, and could only pull forth the image of how she looked that last night. Eyes wet, shoulders drawn, lips tilted down. That recollection coupled with a strange desire to replace that image in his mind pulled forth her name from his lips.

"Mina." It almost sounded like a question.

She paused briefly as if attempting to identify his voice before looking over her shoulder, green eyes meeting onyx ones.

Shikamaru was at her side now, and to his relief there was a smile on her lips. Faint, but it was better than the expression he'd seen on her last.

"Shikamaru," she greeted. "Hi."

He was surprised to find that his neck remained it's normal temperature and no tightness formed in his chest. In the case that either of those made a reappearance and he lost his composure again, Shikamaru quickly tumbled out the words, "Can I walk with you?"

Mina's smile widened and touched her eyes, at which Shikamaru felt a flutter - just a small one - in his stomach. He ignored it.

"Are you sure you're going this way?" She teased as she resumed walking. He matched pace with her and rubbed the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, about that-"

"It's okay, you don't have to explain why you didn't want to walk with me that night." Mina's tone was light and she shrugged a shoulder as if to emphasize her nonchalance.

Contrary to her words, Shikamaru suddenly felt the urge to explain. "Mina, I-"

She cut him off again. "Can I ask you a question though?"

Shikamaru blinked, unsure what to make of her tone and wondering where this was headed. There seemed to be a shift in her air which Shikamaru thought to have become agitated though he wasn't sure why. Before allowing her to ask her question, he took a chance and proposed a condition.

"Yeah sure. But I get to ask one after you."

Mina eyed him with a raised brow. "Fine."

"Okay then, what's your question?" Shikamaru slid his hands into his pockets in an attempt to convince himself that he was relaxed.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Shikamaru wasn't sure how to answer that. In a way, yes. He didn't exactly feel comfortable in her presence. But it isn't as if it was a bad discomfort that he felt.

"Um."

"You can be honest and I won't be offended. I just want to know because it's been bothering me." Mirroring his feigned relaxation, Mina also slid her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

Does that mean she had thought about him?

That tugged the corner of Shikamaru's lips into a small curve.

"Yes and no." He answered.

She turned to look at him and in his periphery he caught the bright green of her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You already asked your question," he drawled out. "I get one now."

She stared at him for a moment longer, then proposed, "why limit our conversation? Let's go back and forth while we're walking."

"Alright." Shikamaru shrugged, and found that the ease of the motion wasn't as feigned as he thought it would be. "Are you a shinobi?"

"Not anymore."

Why wasn't she anymore? How long had it been? What was it like readjusting to civilian life? He bit back the urge to blurt all of that out in one go.

Mina waited a moment, as if aware of the barrage of questions in his mind, then asked, "what did you mean by 'yes and no'?"

Shikamaru swallowed, unsure how to explain and unsure if he even wanted to. There was never anything spoken about how elaborate their answers had to be.

"'Yes', because I don't exactly feel comfortable. But also 'no' because it's not really a bad feeling either."

Please don't be red please don't be red. He hoped his willpower was enough to keep his cheeks from incriminating him once again.

"Oh, come on. What kind of explanation was that?"

Shikamaru smirked. "It's my turn to ask a question."

Mina rolled her eyes but a smile still played on her lips. "You're going to ask why I'm not a shinobi anymore, right? Or when I decided to step down from that life?"

"You just asked two more questions when it's still my turn."

Mina scrunched her nose at him and a laugh escaped him at her feigned displeasure. "Okay, well hurry up and ask."

At first, he was planning on asking about her past. But then a different question crossed his mind and in a moment of boldness that he wasn't expecting Shikamaru asked, "Why did you kiss me?"

Mina seemed to miss a step but recovered so quickly that Shikamaru probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't suddenly become hyper aware of her after having asked his question.

She countered with her own question. "Why did you kiss me back?"


End file.
